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Trumpet Festival of the Southeast

2019 Trumpet Festival of the SoutheastHosted by Kennesaw State UniversityJanuary 18 – 20

This year’s festival will feature a host of fabulous artists from across the region
and country. Our two featured trumpet artists this year are Joe Gransden and Rex Richardson.
Our evening concert artists include the KSU Jazz Parliament, Georgia Brass Band, and
KSU Wind Ensemble. The KSU School of Music is proud to host this event and we can’t
wait to see you on campus at Kennesaw State!

This year's schedule is full of fun and informative trumpet masterclasses, warm-up
sessions, trumpet ensemble sessions, recitals, and concerts. In addition to the wonderful
variety of sessions we offer, there will be many vendors there ready to show off all
the latest and greatest brass gadgets and equipment.

Friday, January 18, 2019

5 p.m. - 8 p.m. – Registration open

6 p.m. - 7 p.m. – Welcome and initial mass ensemble rehearsal

7 p.m. - 8 p.m. – Dinner break

8 p.m. – KSU Faculty Jazz Parliament featuring Joe Gransden and Rex Richardson – View ProgramThis performance will be held in the Stillwell Theater located in the J.M. Wilson
Building on Campus at Kennesaw State University.

Saturday, January 19th

7:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. – Registration open

8 a.m. - 9 a.m. – Warm-Up Session, Dr. T.J. TeshThis morning session will explore one of the many amazing fundamentals routines out
there, Greg Spence’s Mystery to Mastery, in an effort to provide attendees another
approach to improving their playing on a daily basis. Combining Spence’s routine
with drones and drum machines, this promises to be an exciting approach to sound fundamentals!

T.J. Tesh – University of Southern Mississippi

Dr. T.J. TeshAssistant Professor of Trumpet

Dr. T.J. Tesh is among the newest members of the School of Music faculty at The University
of Southern Mississippi, having assumed his position as the Assistant Professor of
Trumpet in August of 2016. T.J. relocated to Mississippi after an exciting and successful
career as a freelance trumpeter and music educator in the Los Angeles area. Dr. Tesh
is a Yamaha Performing Artist and Pickett Brass Artist, and has enjoyed an eclectic
performance career, having performed with music legends like Stevie Wonder, Natalie
Cole, Patti Austin, Take 6, Quincy Jones, Dave Koz, Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band,
the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and many others. Prior to leaving Los Angeles, T.J.
recorded, toured and performed around the globe for three years as a member of the
internationally celebrated brass quintet, Presidio Brass. Additionally, Dr. Tesh has
toured and performed throughout the United States and Canada with Victory Brass, The
Alias Brass Company, the Southern Arts Brass Quintet and with Mel Brooks’ Tony Award-winning
Broadway musical, The Producers, where he served as principal trumpet. T.J.’s debut
solo recording, Adaptations for Trumpet, was released in November of 2017.

T.J. received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Trumpet Performance and Music Education
from The University of Southern California in 2012, having previously completed his
Master of Music in Trumpet Performance at The University of Kentucky in 2004 and his
Bachelor of Arts in Music at Mars Hill College in 2002.

9 a.m. – Exhibits openExhibits will be open from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. for participants to visit the 2019
TFSE sponsors and vendors.

Dr. Chip Crotts a grammy nominated artist, Crotts has performed and recorded for the
Disney Company in Europe and the United States, and maintains an active career as
a first call musician for national touring shows and orchestral dates throughout the
United States. Chip has toured and worked with numerous international artists and
ensembles, including Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Boston Brass, The Manhattan Transfer,
Jamie Cullum, Rhythm and Brass, The O’Jay’s, Joan Rivers, Frankie Valli, The Temptations
and Maynard Ferguson, among others. Equally at home as a classical performer, Chip
has presented numerous university recitals and masterclasses and has performed with
the orchestras of North Carolina, Alabama, Huntsville, Charleston, Macon, Austin,
Tuscaloosa, Altoona, Abilene, and Chattanooga, among others. He can be heard on recent
recordings with John Driskell Hopkins, Jennifer Holliday and Joe Gransden, as well
on the SeaBreeze Jazz label with groups such as the Bob Meyer Concept Orchestra and
Third Coast Jazz Orchestra. Chip is also a featured musician on the Grammy nominated
“Celebration of Life” with Little Joe Y La Famiglia. Additional recordings include
performances with the University of Texas Wind Ensemble, University of Texas Jazz
Orchestra, Penn State Centre Dimensions and East Carolina Jazz Ensemble “A”. Dr. Crotts
has also been a featured soloist in some of the world’s premier musical venues, including
Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, Birdland, Blues Alley, Le Duc des Lombards (Paris,
France) and The Blue Note.

As an educator, Dr. Crotts presents clinics nationally on Brass Pedagogy, Jazz Pedagogy,
Breathing for Wind Players and Versatility in Performance. Also involved in the marching
arts, Crotts has served as a brass instructor with Spirit of Atlanta, Phantom Regiment,
The Blue Devils, The Cavaliers and is presently Brass Caption Manager for the Santa
Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps. Chip is very active as a clinician and adjudicator
and has served in this capacity with organizations such as Bands of America, Drum
Corps International, Drum Corps Japan, DCI Taiwan Marching Academy, Winter Guard International
and numerous state and national music educator associations.

Currently, Dr. Crotts serves as Vice-President of the Georgia Association of Jazz
Educators, as well as being a member of NAfME, the American Federation of Musicians,
the Jazz Education Network and The International Trumpet Guild. He is a past fellowship
recipient from the Aspen Music Festival and Music at the Banff Centre (Canada), as
well as a grant recipient from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Georgia
Tech Foundation. Most recently, Dr. Crotts was selected as a Georgia Tech “Class
of 1969 Teaching Fellow” and the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning
“2017 Teaching Award”.

Dr. Crotts received his undergraduate degree in Music Business from East Carolina
University, a Master of Music in Orchestral Performance from Penn State University,
as well as the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Trumpet Performance with a Jazz Emphasis
from the University of Texas at Austin. His primary teachers include Ray Sasaki, Ray
Crisara, John Daniel and Tom Huener, including additional studies with Boyde Hood
and Roger Ingram.

Previously, Chip served on the faculties of Samford University, Jacksonville State
University and The University of Texas at Austin.

A Yamaha Performing Artist and Clinician, Chip resides in Acworth, GA with his wife
Kelly and daughter Abigail.

10 a.m. - 11 a.m. – Featured College Players Recital – View ProgramThis recital will feature various students from across the Southeast. Selection for
this recital is competitive and selected by the trumpet instructors from across the
region.

11 a.m. - 12 p.m. – Featured Professors Recital – View ProgramThis recital will feature the fine playing of some of the nation’s top trumpet pedagogues.

12 p.m. - 1 p.m. – Lunch break

1 p.m. - 2 p.m. – Dedicated time to visit exhibitorsExhibits will be open from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. for participants to visit the 2019
TFSE sponsors and vendors.

2 p.m. - 3 p.m. – Featured artist masterclasses, Rex Richardson

Rex Richardson – Featured Artist

Rex Richardson Trumpet Soloist

Hailed in classical circles as “among the very best trumpet soloists in the world
today,” (International Trumpet Guild) “One of the finest virtuosos of our time” (The Brass Herald) and in jazz as “a standout soloist with the power, range and flexibility to rival
Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw,” (DownBeat Magazine) Yamaha Performing Artist Rex Richardson was named the 2008 Brass Herald Personality
of the Year.

A veteran of the acclaimed chamber ensemble Rhythm & Brass, jazz legend Joe Henderson’s
Quintet and Sextet, William Russo’s Chicago Jazz Ensemble, and the Brass Band of Battle
Creek, known as the world’s “Rolls Royce of Brass Bands” (Brass Band World), he stays busy as a headline artist at international brass and jazz festivals and
as a soloist with orchestras, concert bands, brass bands and jazz ensembles on five
continents. These ensembles have ranged from the Phoenix Symphony to the U.S. Army
Field Band, and from England’s Fodens Brass Band to the U.S. Air Force’s Airmen of
Note Jazz Ensemble.

Style Weekly called Richardson “One of the world’s most engaging and astonishingly versatile trumpeters.”
A tireless champion of new music and an advocate of improvisation in classical as
well as jazz settings, he has presented the premiere performances of genre-bending
concertos by Peter Meechan, Anthony Plog, Doug Richards, David Sampson, Andy Scott,
James Stephenson, Allen Vizzutti, and Dana Wilson in over twenty-five countries on
five continents since 2006.

Richardson’s nine solo recordings, including the 2010 release Magnum Opus: 21st Century Trumpet Concertos are all released on Summit Records. His most recent, Freedom of Movement: 21st Century Trumpet Concertos, featuring the new works by Plog, Scott, Stephenson and Vizzutti, was released in
May to rave reviews.

Richardson has degrees in anthropology and music from Northwestern and Louisiana State
and has taught at Virginia Commonwealth University since 2002. He served as International
Tutor in Trumpet at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, U.K. from 2012-2015.

3 p.m. - 4 p.m. – Trumpet ensemble rehearsals

4 p.m. - 5 p.m. – Featured artist masterclass, Joe Gransden

Joe Gransden – Featured Artist

Joe GransdenTrumpeter and Vocalist

Band leader Joe Gransden has performed worldwide and released 16 CDs under his own
name. Renowned first for the hard bop approach of his trumpet, Gransden’s singing
voice has been compared to that of Chet Baker and Frank Sinatra.

"When I first heard Joe nine years ago, I immediately thought of Chet," says Jazziz
magazine critic James Rozzi, “but lately his voice has taken on its own style with
a deeper resonance. His trumpet has always alternated lyricism with an aggressive,
angular approach. He has the ability to cover the gamut of emotions."

Joe is from just north of Manhattan, New York. Coming from a family full of musicians,
Joe’s introduction to music came early on through his father, a gifted singer and
pianist. His grandfather was a trumpeter of merit, playing professionally his whole
life throughout New York. On his mother’s side of the family was the piano virtuoso
Carmen Cavallero.

"Music has been a part of my life as far back as I can remember,” says the unassuming
Joe Gransden. “I can remember practicing with my father, and eventually him taking
me along to sit in at jam sessions. Early on I developed a respect for individuals
like my father whose lives revolved around music. While still in high school, I knew
that music was the life I would choose.”

Not long after high school, Joe was on the road as a sideman with the big bands of
Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller. A number of A.F.M. contracted sideman gigs include
Barry White, The Moody Blues, Kenny Rogers, The Temptations, Aretha Franklin, The
Whispers, etc. Eventually moving to New York City, he performed with numerous groups,
including sub work with Toshiko Akiyoshi and Chico O’Farrill at the famous Birdland
Jazz Club. Meanwhile, Joe formed his own group, which performed in Brooklyn each week
and included the venerable guitarist Joe Cohn and ex-Betty Carter bassist, Matt Hughes.
“Having my own group and being fortunate enough to travel, play, and record has been
a dream come true,” says Joe.

“Exploring the music with a steady group of great players has enabled me to continually
grow.” Joe Gransden growing legion of fans around the country have obviously taken
note. In Atlanta, where Joe plays steadily 5-6 nights a week in as many venues, his
loyal following includes an array of people from blue-collar workers to upper crust
businessmen and businesswomen who all share a love of good music.

Like many developing jazzmen, Gransden’s early influences, which include Kenny Dorham
and Miles Davis, were easily recognizable in his playing throughout his formative
years. "Emulating the jazz greats is always the very first step," says the historically-rooted
Gransden. "But obviously, in order to be true to myself—who I am, pwhat I believe
in, my family background—I need to have a sound that’s my own. It’s taken me until
recently to hone in on that voice and explore its potential. One of the truly enjoyable
things about my career has been finding that my audience appreciates my individual
talents."

A widening schedule has found Joe performing the 1st and 3rd Mondays of every month
at Café 290 in Atlanta w/his 16 Piece Big Band , The Jazz Corner in Hilton Head, South
Carolina, The Blue Note NYC, The Museum of Art and Design in midtown Manhattan, Spivey
Hall in Atlanta, Ga and Tehema Golf Club in Carmel, California (where Joe regularly
plays events for Clint Eastwood). Joe also just released his brand new Big Band cd
entitled “Go Getta”! The title track was written for Joe by Kipper Jones and features
saxophone great Kenny G! Pick your copy up today on Joe’s website, ITUNES, CDBABY
etc....

5 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. – Festival of Trumpets Concert – View ProgramThis concert features ensembles from across the Southeast. If you want to participate
in the mass ensemble just indicate your preference at registration. You will receive
an email with details closer to the event.

6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. – Dinner break

8 p.m. – Evening concert – View ProgramKSU Wind Ensemble and the Georgia Brass Band featuring Rex Richardson, Joe Gransden,
and Doug Lindsey. This performance will be held at the North Cobb High School Performing
Arts Center (3400 Old 41 Highway, NW, Kennesaw, GA 30144).

Event parking is available free of charge in Parking Lots E and D starting at 5 p.m.
on Friday, January 18 through Sunday, January 20. Additional overflow parking is available
in metered visitor Parking Lot J.

Dr. Chip Crotts a grammy nominated artist, Crotts has performed and recorded for the
Disney Company in Europe and the United States, and maintains an active career as
a first call musician for national touring shows and orchestral dates throughout the
United States. Chip has toured and worked with numerous international artists and
ensembles, including Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Boston Brass, The Manhattan Transfer,
Jamie Cullum, Rhythm and Brass, The O’Jay’s, Joan Rivers, Frankie Valli, The Temptations
and Maynard Ferguson, among others. Equally at home as a classical performer, Chip
has presented numerous university recitals and masterclasses and has performed with
the orchestras of North Carolina, Alabama, Huntsville, Charleston, Macon, Austin,
Tuscaloosa, Altoona, Abilene, and Chattanooga, among others. He can be heard on recent
recordings with John Driskell Hopkins, Jennifer Holliday and Joe Gransden, as well
on the SeaBreeze Jazz label with groups such as the Bob Meyer Concept Orchestra and
Third Coast Jazz Orchestra. Chip is also a featured musician on the Grammy nominated
“Celebration of Life” with Little Joe Y La Famiglia. Additional recordings include
performances with the University of Texas Wind Ensemble, University of Texas Jazz
Orchestra, Penn State Centre Dimensions and East Carolina Jazz Ensemble “A”. Dr. Crotts
has also been a featured soloist in some of the world’s premier musical venues, including
Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, Birdland, Blues Alley, Le Duc des Lombards (Paris,
France) and The Blue Note.

As an educator, Dr. Crotts presents clinics nationally on Brass Pedagogy, Jazz Pedagogy,
Breathing for Wind Players and Versatility in Performance. Also involved in the marching
arts, Crotts has served as a brass instructor with Spirit of Atlanta, Phantom Regiment,
The Blue Devils, The Cavaliers and is presently Brass Caption Manager for the Santa
Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps. Chip is very active as a clinician and adjudicator
and has served in this capacity with organizations such as Bands of America, Drum
Corps International, Drum Corps Japan, DCI Taiwan Marching Academy, Winter Guard International
and numerous state and national music educator associations.

Currently, Dr. Crotts serves as Vice-President of the Georgia Association of Jazz
Educators, as well as being a member of NAfME, the American Federation of Musicians,
the Jazz Education Network and The International Trumpet Guild. He is a past fellowship
recipient from the Aspen Music Festival and Music at the Banff Centre (Canada), as
well as a grant recipient from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Georgia
Tech Foundation. Most recently, Dr. Crotts was selected as a Georgia Tech “Class
of 1969 Teaching Fellow” and the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning
“2017 Teaching Award”.

Dr. Crotts received his undergraduate degree in Music Business from East Carolina
University, a Master of Music in Orchestral Performance from Penn State University,
as well as the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Trumpet Performance with a Jazz Emphasis
from the University of Texas at Austin. His primary teachers include Ray Sasaki, Ray
Crisara, John Daniel and Tom Huener, including additional studies with Boyde Hood
and Roger Ingram.

Previously, Chip served on the faculties of Samford University, Jacksonville State
University and The University of Texas at Austin.

A Yamaha Performing Artist and Clinician, Chip resides in Acworth, GA with his wife
Kelly and daughter Abigail.

David Kehler – Kennesaw State University

David Kehler Music Director and Conductor of the KSU Wind Ensemble

Since 2009, David Kehler has served as Music Director and Conductor of the KSU Wind
Ensemble. In addition, Dr. Kehler teaches courses in instrumental conducting, symphonic
repertoire, and twentieth century music. Along with his university responsibilities,
professor Kehler currently serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Atlanta Wind
Symphony, and as President-Elect for the College Band Directors National Association-Southern
Division.

An advocate of new music, Professor Kehler has commissioned nearly two-dozen leading
composers, including several Pulitzer Prize winners to write new compositions for
wind ensemble. Performing music beyond the KSU campus, the KSU Wind Ensemble can also
be heard frequently on 90.1, Atlanta Public Radio, along with being featured at the
College Band Director’s National Association Convention (two times), and most recently
at the 2016 GMEA State Conference, in Athens, Georgia. In 2013, the KSU Wind Ensemble
won the American Prize for best university wind ensemble/concert band recording in
the United States.

Previously, Dr. Kehler served as Associate Conductor of America’s Premiere Windband;
The Dallas Winds, and served as Founder and Conductor of the Greater Dallas Youth
Orchestra Wind Symphony. Previous academic appointments were at Southern Methodist
University, the University of Rhode Island, and Bay City Western High School, in Bay
City, Michigan. Growing up in Michigan, Dr. Kehler received his Bachelor of Music
Education and Master of Music in Conducting degrees from Michigan State University,
followed by his Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in instrumental conducting from the
University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Douglas Lindsey joined the faculty at Kennesaw State University in the fall of
2012, and is very active in the Southeast. Recently as a soloist, he has been a featured
artist with the Memphis Symphony, the Kennesaw State Orchestra, the Kennesaw State
Wind Ensemble, the Georgia Brass Band, at the International Trumpet Guild conference,
at the Atlanta Trumpet Festival, and at the Trumpet Festival of the Southeast. An
advocate of new music, over the course of the two years he has premiered 4 new works
for trumpet. Alongside pianist, Judy Cole, he has performed solo recitals all over
the Southeast as a founding member of Duo Trompiano. In addition to solo work, Dr.
Lindsey enjoys an active chamber music career as first trumpet with the Premiere Brass,
as founding member of the Atlanta Trumpet League, and as a member of the Isthmus Brass.
As an orchestral musician, he regularly performs as the principal trumpet of the
Georgia Symphony Orchestra, as section trumpet with the Atlanta Symphony, the Memphis
Symphony, the Macon Symphony, and spent two summers at the Aspen Music Festival. As
an educator, he maintains a vibrant studio of young trumpeters at KSU and at various
high schools in the area, and recently started a popular regional high school ensemble,
the North-Atlanta Trumpet Ensemble. Most recently, the KSU trumpet ensemble garnered
praise at the 2015 International Trumpet Guild conference where they performed Erik
Morale’s Infinite Ascent, and continue to find success at the National Trumpet Competition
with their consecutive semi-finalist placements. Other studio accomplishments include
multiple winners from theInternational Trumpet Guild scholarship contest, job placements, successful
graduate school placements, and multiple winners of KSU’s concerto competition.

Dr. Lindsey’s former duties as music history lecturer at KSU as well as his many experiences
on the cornetto and the baroque trumpet reflect his keen interest in the fields of
early music and musicology. As an avid composer and arranger, he enjoys creating
work for trumpet ensemble, brass quintet, and brass ensembles. His published dissertation,
“Beyond the Galant,” is an arrangement of four Haydn symphonies for trumpet with historical
information about Haydn, performance practice, and the history behind many of the
works. This work is distributed by Hickey’s music and available atwww.hickeys.com.
His many other arrangements and compositions are available on his website www.dougtrumpeter.com.

Previous to his time at KSU, Dr. Lindsey played concerts all over Wisconsin, Minnesota,
and Illinois with the acclaimed Wisconsin Brass Quintet. Prior to his tenure with
WBQ, Dr. Lindsey performed with the Yale Faculty Brass trio in a series of concerts
ending inCarnegie Hall in New York City. In addition to the faculty brass, Dr. Lindsey
also pursued a busy schedule with the Atticus Brass Quintet –winner of the 2009 Aspen
Music Festival Quintet Fellowship. With Atticus, Dr. Lindsey had the opportunity to
play outreach concerts all over Connecticut, perform alongside the American Brass
Quintet, and play an exclusive concert on the Millennium Stage of the Kennedy Center
in Washington D.C.

Previous to earning his DMA at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Lindsey studied
with Allan Dean at Yale, earning his Master of Music with the distinction of winning
the John Swallow excellence in brass prize. Prior to Yale he studied with Ray Mase,
Louis Ranger, Kevin Cobb, Scott Moore and Richard Rulli. Dr. Lindsey received his
music performance and music education degrees magna cum laude from the University
of Arkansas-Fayetteville.

Dr. Lindsey is a Schilke performing artist and performs on Facet Mutes.

Greg McLean – Georgia Perimeter College

Greg McLean Associate Professor of Music

Greg McLean (b.1956), trumpeter, composer and arranger, was born in Shreveport, Louisiana,
but grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. He received a Bachelors Degree in Music Education
(1979) from Georgia State University and attended Florida State University where he
received a Masters of Music (1982) with a major in music composition. After several
years of freelancing in Atlanta as a trumpet player and arranger, McLean attended
the well known music school at the University of North Texas (formerly North Texas
State University) where he studied composition and jazz (1985-86). Since leaving Texas
McLean has had a varied musical career including stops in Baltimore, MD as cornetist
for the Peabody Ragtime Ensemble and freelance work in Orlando, FL. In 1987, McLean
returned to Atlanta where he is currently Associate Professor of Music at Perimeter
College (Georgia State University), He directs the PC Jazz Ensemble, and teaches
music theory, jazz history, music appreciation, and trumpet.

Greg McLean is one of Atlanta’s more versatile musicians, having performed in a wide
variety of brass ensembles, bands, orchestras, jazz and pop groups . For the past
two years he has toured with the Stan Kenton Legacy Orchestra. He has performed in Europe six times with Hotlanta Dixieland Jazz, as well as the Singapore Arts Festival (1996) and a tour of Poland and Russia (1996).
As a composer, McLean has written three works for the Atlanta Symphony Brass Quintet. His piece Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, written
for the ASO Brass and piano, was aired during a live broadcast of NPR’s Performance
Today during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. Several of McLean’s compositions have
also been performed at the International Trumpet Guild Conference, The National Trumpet
Competition, and the annual Trumpet Festival of the Southeast. His concerto for two
trumpets, The Twain Have Met, was composed for jazz great Marvin Stamm, and premiered in 2008 at the University of Tennessee (Knoxville). In April 2011
Stamm premiered Twain, re-orchestrated for wind ensemble, at Indiana University of
Pennsylvania. On May 23, 2012 Twain was featured at the opening night concert of the
37th Annual Conference of the International Trumpet Guild. As a trumpet player, McLean
performs in all musical genres, but enjoys the expressive freedom of jazz. He leads
The G-Force Jazz comprised of several of the finest jazz musicians in the Atlanta
area. The group’s debut CD, Cabin Fever, available on YouTube. McLean has appeared on over thirty-five CD’s as trumpet player, composer and/or
arranger.

Joe Gransden – Featured Artist

Joe GransdenTrumpeter and Vocalist

Band leader Joe Gransden has performed worldwide and released 16 CDs under his own
name. Renowned first for the hard bop approach of his trumpet, Gransden’s singing
voice has been compared to that of Chet Baker and Frank Sinatra.

"When I first heard Joe nine years ago, I immediately thought of Chet," says Jazziz
magazine critic James Rozzi, “but lately his voice has taken on its own style with
a deeper resonance. His trumpet has always alternated lyricism with an aggressive,
angular approach. He has the ability to cover the gamut of emotions."

Joe is from just north of Manhattan, New York. Coming from a family full of musicians,
Joe’s introduction to music came early on through his father, a gifted singer and
pianist. His grandfather was a trumpeter of merit, playing professionally his whole
life throughout New York. On his mother’s side of the family was the piano virtuoso
Carmen Cavallero.

"Music has been a part of my life as far back as I can remember,” says the unassuming
Joe Gransden. “I can remember practicing with my father, and eventually him taking
me along to sit in at jam sessions. Early on I developed a respect for individuals
like my father whose lives revolved around music. While still in high school, I knew
that music was the life I would choose.”

Not long after high school, Joe was on the road as a sideman with the big bands of
Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller. A number of A.F.M. contracted sideman gigs include
Barry White, The Moody Blues, Kenny Rogers, The Temptations, Aretha Franklin, The
Whispers, etc. Eventually moving to New York City, he performed with numerous groups,
including sub work with Toshiko Akiyoshi and Chico O’Farrill at the famous Birdland
Jazz Club. Meanwhile, Joe formed his own group, which performed in Brooklyn each week
and included the venerable guitarist Joe Cohn and ex-Betty Carter bassist, Matt Hughes.
“Having my own group and being fortunate enough to travel, play, and record has been
a dream come true,” says Joe.

“Exploring the music with a steady group of great players has enabled me to continually
grow.” Joe Gransden growing legion of fans around the country have obviously taken
note. In Atlanta, where Joe plays steadily 5-6 nights a week in as many venues, his
loyal following includes an array of people from blue-collar workers to upper crust
businessmen and businesswomen who all share a love of good music.

Like many developing jazzmen, Gransden’s early influences, which include Kenny Dorham
and Miles Davis, were easily recognizable in his playing throughout his formative
years. "Emulating the jazz greats is always the very first step," says the historically-rooted
Gransden. "But obviously, in order to be true to myself—who I am, pwhat I believe
in, my family background—I need to have a sound that’s my own. It’s taken me until
recently to hone in on that voice and explore its potential. One of the truly enjoyable
things about my career has been finding that my audience appreciates my individual
talents."

A widening schedule has found Joe performing the 1st and 3rd Mondays of every month
at Café 290 in Atlanta w/his 16 Piece Big Band , The Jazz Corner in Hilton Head, South
Carolina, The Blue Note NYC, The Museum of Art and Design in midtown Manhattan, Spivey
Hall in Atlanta, Ga and Tehema Golf Club in Carmel, California (where Joe regularly
plays events for Clint Eastwood). Joe also just released his brand new Big Band cd
entitled “Go Getta”! The title track was written for Joe by Kipper Jones and features
saxophone great Kenny G! Pick your copy up today on Joe’s website, ITUNES, CDBABY
etc....

Joe Johnson has served as the Music Director of the Georgia Brass Band since 1999.
A native of the Boston area, he studied close to home and earned degrees in trumpet
performance and music education from Boston University. While there he was a trumpet
student of Roger Voisin and Tim Morrison and regularly participated in masterclasses
and coaching sessions with members of the Empire Brass and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
His performance credits include the Boston Civic Symphony, MIT Symphony, Harvard-Radcliffe
Orchestra, Commonwealth Brass, Boston Bach Society Orchestra, Tom Nutile Big Band,
Georgia Philharmonia, Georgia Sinfonia, DeKalb Symphony, Macon Symphony, and Orchestra
Atlanta. Joe has performed at festivals as diverse as the Tanglewood Festival and
the Great American Brass Band Festival and in concert halls ranging from Boston’s
Symphony Hall to London’s Royal Albert Hall. He has been active in brass banding for
over forty years as both a cornetist and conductor. Joe previously served on the board
of directors of the North American Brass Band Association and is a recipient of the
Citation of Excellence from the National Band Association.

Carol Doemel – Director of Orchestras, Lassiter High School

Carol DoemelDirector of Orchestras, Lassiter High School

Carol Doemel, Director of Orchestras at Lassiter High School, is a frequent adjudicator,
trumpet freelancer, and clinician in the Atlanta area. She received her Bachelor of
Music degree in Music Performance from Florida State University, performing under
the baton of Dr. Phillip Spurgeon, Dr. James Croft, and other notable maestros. Ms.
Doemel served as principal and section trumpet with the United States Army Forces
Command Band, touring nationwide from 1984-1991. During this time, Ms. Doemel received
her Masters in Music Performance from Georgia State University, studying with both
Dr. Steven Winick and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Principal Trumpet, John Head. She
has performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Ballet Orchestra, Macon
Symphony, and served as Principal Trumpet of the Georgia Symphony Orchestra (formerly
Cobb Symphony Orchestra) and Columbus Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Doemel is an active member of the Music Educators National Conference and the
Georgia Music Educators Association; serving as a Master Judge for this organization.
She continues her military career as leader of the Army Brass Quintet and member of
the 116th Army Band stationed at Dobbins Air Force Base in Marietta, Georgia.

Rex Richardson – Featured Artist

Rex Richardson Trumpet Soloist

Hailed in classical circles as “among the very best trumpet soloists in the world
today,” (International Trumpet Guild) “One of the finest virtuosos of our time” (The Brass Herald) and in jazz as “a standout soloist with the power, range and flexibility to rival
Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw,” (DownBeat Magazine) Yamaha Performing Artist Rex Richardson was named the 2008 Brass Herald Personality
of the Year.

A veteran of the acclaimed chamber ensemble Rhythm & Brass, jazz legend Joe Henderson’s
Quintet and Sextet, William Russo’s Chicago Jazz Ensemble, and the Brass Band of Battle
Creek, known as the world’s “Rolls Royce of Brass Bands” (Brass Band World), he stays busy as a headline artist at international brass and jazz festivals and
as a soloist with orchestras, concert bands, brass bands and jazz ensembles on five
continents. These ensembles have ranged from the Phoenix Symphony to the U.S. Army
Field Band, and from England’s Fodens Brass Band to the U.S. Air Force’s Airmen of
Note Jazz Ensemble.

Style Weekly called Richardson “One of the world’s most engaging and astonishingly versatile trumpeters.”
A tireless champion of new music and an advocate of improvisation in classical as
well as jazz settings, he has presented the premiere performances of genre-bending
concertos by Peter Meechan, Anthony Plog, Doug Richards, David Sampson, Andy Scott,
James Stephenson, Allen Vizzutti, and Dana Wilson in over twenty-five countries on
five continents since 2006.

Richardson’s nine solo recordings, including the 2010 release Magnum Opus: 21st Century Trumpet Concertos are all released on Summit Records. His most recent, Freedom of Movement: 21st Century Trumpet Concertos, featuring the new works by Plog, Scott, Stephenson and Vizzutti, was released in
May to rave reviews.

Richardson has degrees in anthropology and music from Northwestern and Louisiana State
and has taught at Virginia Commonwealth University since 2002. He served as International
Tutor in Trumpet at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, U.K. from 2012-2015.

T.J. Tesh – University of Southern Mississippi

Dr. Timothy J. TeshAssistant Professor of Trumpet

Dr. Timothy J. Tesh is among the newest members of the School of Music faculty at
The University of Southern Mississippi, having assumed his position as the Assistant
Professor of Trumpet in August of 2016. T.J. relocated to Mississippi after an exciting
and successful career as a freelance trumpeter and music educator in the Los Angeles
area. Dr. Tesh is a Yamaha Performing Artist and Pickett Brass Artist, and has enjoyed
an eclectic performance career, having performed with music legends like Stevie Wonder,
Natalie Cole, Patti Austin, Take 6, Quincy Jones, Dave Koz, Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat
Band, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and many others. Prior to leaving Los Angeles,
T.J. recorded, toured and performed around the globe for three years as a member of
the internationally celebrated brass quintet, Presidio Brass. Additionally, Dr. Tesh
has toured and performed throughout the United States and Canada with Victory Brass,
The Alias Brass Company, the Southern Arts Brass Quintet and with Mel Brooks’ Tony
Award-winning Broadway musical, The Producers, where he served as principal trumpet.
T.J.’s debut solo recording, Adaptations for Trumpet, was released in November of
2017.

T.J. received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Trumpet Performance and Music Education
from The University of Southern California in 2012, having previously completed his
Master of Music in Trumpet Performance at The University of Kentucky in 2004 and his
Bachelor of Arts in Music at Mars Hill College in 2002.

Vendors and Sponsors

Thank you to the 2019 TFSE vendors and sponsors for their generous support of this
year's festival! Stop by and visit the vendors and sponsors from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m.
on Saturday, January 19.

Embassy Suites – Kennesaw Town Center

620 Chastain Road, Kennesaw, GA, 30144Book online using this link to recieve special group rateOr call 1-800-EMBASSY and mention group code CESTFS or group name "Trumpet Festival of the Southeast at Kennesaw State University" to
receive special group rate.**Please note: To receive special group rate, reservations must be made no later than
11:55 p.m. on January 1, 2019.**